‘Anything Is Possible’ Says ‘Virtuality’ Creator Moore

Fox is taking a wait and see approach with the two-hour pilot movie "Virtuality," airing June 26.

While co-creator Ronald D. Moore said it doesn’t look like the project is going to series, he cautioned, "Never say never."

"They [Fox] haven’t picked it up to date. Their attitude, I think, is kind of wait and see. They want to see what the reaction is going to be," Moore said in a conference call. "I think right now it doesn’t look like it’s going to series, but if enough people watched and enough people got excited about it, anything is possible."

If the pilot, which doesn’t completely resolve itself in two hours, is not picked up for series, Moore said it could continue in another medium, such as comic book form or as another TV movie.

"We’ve talked about all those possibilities. It depends on where we go after the broadcast," he added. "Sometimes these things have a bigger life that blossoms a few weeks after the broadcast."

But with dense, sci-fi shows like “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” getting canceled and “Dollhouse” just barely earning a surprise renewal, “Virtuality’s” situation seems even more precarious. Moore, who was able to juggle “Virtuality” with cable sci-fi shows “Battlestar Galactica” and “Caprica” thanks to the proximity of their Vancouver sets, expressed concern over the state of network television and reinforced the need for patience on the network’s side.

“I think it’s a difficult time for the networks in general. Everybody in the business has a sense that television is changing right underneath our feet,” he said. “While we all say we’re going to be ahead of the curve, nobody has an idea of what it’s changing to. That sort of anxiety and lack of knowledge of where we’re going contributes to an atmosphere of panic and of fear.”

Moore thinks that panic is to blame for many shows getting pulled from the airwaves far too quickly. He pointed out that many of TV’s most successful shows started out on uncertain ground, singling out “Seinfeld” as an example of a show that eventually went on to become both extremely lucrative and a critical favorite after a rocky start.

“There’s certainly a strong argument for having patience and faith and trusting your audience and trusting your instincts and going with programming,” Moore said. “Unfortunately, we’re in an atmosphere where everyone is just afraid and everyone’ really worried what’s going to happen next week. I would not want to be in charge of one of these networks because it would be really hard to know how I’m supposed to program this thing.”

Fox executives faced similar fears when they screened “Virtuality’s” complex and multi-layered two-hour pilot, which was filmed for last fall’s development slate.

The sci-fi thriller stars an ensemble of twelve actors, including Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Joy Bryant and Clea Duvall, as astronauts on a 10-year journey to a distant solar system in order to save Earth. In their downtime, the crew enjoy virtual reality modules to pass the time, but a bug develops in the system. They’re also being filmed for a reality show airing back on Earth.

The initial reaction from Fox Entertainment President Kevin Reilly was positive, but there were doubts about how it would play on TV.

“He said, ‘Wow. If this was just a movie, I would say ship it right now. It’s fantastic, but it’s a pilot for Fox,’” Moore recounted.

The pilot was recut by director Peter Berg into a one-hour version at the request of Reilly, but the creative team and network didn’t feel like it was the best version of the show and decided to just air the original two-hour pilot on June 26.

Now, Moore is left waiting to see what the future holds for “Virtuality.”

Regardless of its fate, the show will have a life outside the TV screen. Webisodes from "Edge of Never," the reality show within "Virtuality," will be put up on the show’s Facebook page. Although he started out as a “skeptic/hater” of the genre, Moore decided to include the reality show within the show because of the dominance of reality TV in our popular culture. He now lists “Deadliest Catch,” “Project Runway” and “Top Chef” among his favorite reality shows.

66 Comments

I wasn’t sure if this was a movie or a pilot for an upcoming series. As a movie, it was great. It started a little slow for me, but after the first 1/4, I was totally hooked. And by the end, I was sitting forward in my chair. I was like, “What’s going on?”, “What’s gonna happen next?”. When it ended, I thought something was wrong with my channel. I was so mad. It can’t possibly end like that. If you turn it into a series, I would watch to see what happens. At the same time, I have to be honest and say, that if it comes on at the same time as something I’m already attached to, I probably wouldn’t make Virtuality a priority. Having said that, I wouldn’t miss a movie wrapping things up. An explanation of things, if you will. Sincerely, Jamie Miller

I’ll gear this review to 2 types of people: current Zune owners who are considering an upgrade, and people trying to decide between a Zune and an iPod. (There are other players worth considering out there, like the Sony Walkman X, but I hope this gives you enough info to make an informed decision of the Zune vs players other than the iPod line as well.)

You you should make changes to the post subject ‘Anything Is Possible’ Says ‘Virtuality’ Creator Moore : In Depth : TVWeek – Television Industry news, TV ratings, analysis, celebrity event photos to more generic for your content you make. I loved the blog post however.

I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you create this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you? Plz reply back as I’m looking to create my own blog and would like to know wheere u got this from. thanks

Hey I really thought about the post , good info, Is RSS still not working. . .? or is it my browser. Well, thanks again.http://www.facebooknuke.info – Make Money With Your Facebook Account – Hey, it Works!

I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you create this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you? Plz reply back as I’m looking to create my own blog and would like to know wheere u got this from. thanks

Hands down, Apple’s app store wins by a mile. It’s a huge selection of all sorts of apps vs a rather sad selection of a handful for Zune. Microsoft has plans, especially in the realm of games, but I’m not sure I’d want to bet on the future if this aspect is important to you. The iPod is a much better choice in that case.

Hands down, Apple’s app store wins by a mile. It’s a huge selection of all sorts of apps vs a rather sad selection of a handful for Zune. Microsoft has plans, especially in the realm of games, but I’m not sure I’d want to bet on the future if this aspect is important to you. The iPod is a much better choice in that case.

Hands down, Apple’s app store wins by a mile. It’s a huge selection of all sorts of apps vs a rather sad selection of a handful for Zune. Microsoft has plans, especially in the realm of games, but I’m not sure I’d want to bet on the future if this aspect is important to you. The iPod is a much better choice in that case.

Hands down, Apple’s app store wins by a mile. It’s a huge selection of all sorts of apps vs a rather sad selection of a handful for Zune. Microsoft has plans, especially in the realm of games, but I’m not sure I’d want to bet on the future if this aspect is important to you. The iPod is a much better choice in that case.

I’ll gear this review to 2 types of people: current Zune owners who are considering an upgrade, and people trying to decide between a Zune and an iPod. (There are other players worth considering out there, like the Sony Walkman X, but I hope this gives you enough info to make an informed decision of the Zune vs players other than the iPod line as well.)

I’ll gear this review to 2 types of people: current Zune owners who are considering an upgrade, and people trying to decide between a Zune and an iPod. (There are other players worth considering out there, like the Sony Walkman X, but I hope this gives you enough info to make an informed decision of the Zune vs players other than the iPod line as well.)

Hey how are you doing? I just wanted to stop by and say that it’s been a pleasure reading your blog. I have bookmarked your website so that I can come back & read more in the future as well. plz do keep up the quality writing

Good to be visiting your blog again, it has been weeks for me. Well this is the article that I’ve been waiting for so long. As a roofing contractor I would say this is very informative post and I like your post. Regards, excellent share.
best
Vancouver Roofing Company

Took me moment to look at each and every one of the comments, other than I in fact loved the commentary. It proved being in truth helpful to me plus I am positive to each and every one the commenters here! It’s usually kind whenever you be able to not just be informed, but in addition entertained! I am constructive you had satisfying writing this write-up.